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Access to medicines in the context of the right-to-health framework 2013, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- During the consultations, concerns were raised about the lack of uptake by States of certain essential medicines listed on the WHO EML due to political, cultural and legal considerations, especially of medicines for mental health, palliative care, drug dependence and sexual and reproductive health. For example, access to medical abortion pills such as mifepristone with misoprostol, though included on the WHO EDL, are culturally and legally restricted in many States, limiting women's accessibility to sexual and reproductive health. Criminalization of the activities of drug users in many States also restricts the availability of opioid substitutes, buprenorphine and methadone, proven to be effective in treating drug dependence, despite the fact that they are listed on the WHO EML. The Special Rapporteur recalls that access to essential medicines for vulnerable and marginalized groups should not be impeded by political, legal and cultural considerations. States should take steps to ensure that these medicines are included in their NEMLs and are made available and accessible to such groups.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 43
- Paragraph text
- There are several intersecting groups in society that suffer from corruption on other grounds. There is, for example, evidence that corruption does not affect rural areas in the same way as it affects urban areas. Women can often be particularly affected by health sector corruption. In many countries, they are more likely to use health care than men, a pattern partly explained by their increased use of services during their reproductive years. They may thus be disproportionately affected by the effects of health sector corruption, for example when they lack the money to afford informal payments necessary for assistance around childbirth. Women may also be more vulnerable to informal payments where they lack economic means, for example where they do not participate equally in the paid labour force or do not have equal access to or control of financial resources within the household. Furthermore, women constitute a large proportion of health-care personnel, and can thus be disproportionately affected when health sector corruption negatively affects the timely payment of proper wages.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- The right to sexual and reproductive health is an integral component of the right to health. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights emphasizes aspects of the right to sexual and reproductive health in article 12.2 (a). General Comment No. 14 of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights states that the right to health includes measures to improve child and maternal health, sexual and reproductive health services, including access to family planning, prenatal and post-natal care, emergency obstetric services and access to information, as well as to resources necessary to act on that information (E/C.2/2000/4, para. 14). Moreover, it notes that women's right to health requires the removal of all barriers interfering with access to health services, education and information, including in the area of sexual and reproductive health (ibid., para. 21). The recommendations of the Committee have consistently supported that approach.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 7
- Paragraph text
- The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women requires States to take action to ensure that women are afforded broad equality in, inter alia, education, employment and access to health care. The Convention specifically provides for a proper understanding of maternity as a social function, access to family planning information, and the elimination of discrimination against women in marriage and family relations. Furthermore, article 16.1 (e) mandates that women be provided the same rights to decide freely and responsibly on the number and spacing of their children and to have access to the information, education and means to enable them to exercise those rights.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 8
- Paragraph text
- The Convention on the Rights of the Child provides for the protection of the right to health of young persons under the age of 18. Article 24 of the Convention affirms the right to health as established in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which is especially relevant given the importance of sexual and reproductive health to the lives of young women and men. The Convention urges States to ensure prenatal and post-natal care for mothers, develop family planning education and services and ensure the elimination of traditional practices that are "prejudicial to the health of children".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Men
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- Reproductive health rights also feature prominently in the Programme of Action of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development, the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action and the Millennium Development Goals, which affirm the rights of women to control all aspects of their health, to respect bodily autonomy and integrity and to decide freely in matters relating to their sexuality and reproduction, free of discrimination, coercion and violence. The Beijing Platform for Action states that States should consider removing punitive measures related to sexual and reproductive health. The relationship between improved sexual and reproductive health for women and poverty reduction is particularly emphasized. Unfortunately, the Millennium Development Goals Report 2010 declared that progress in parts of the world in some indicative areas, such as adolescent pregnancy and contraceptive use, had slowed and that aid for family planning as a proportion of total aid to health had declined sharply between 2000 and 2008.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- General Comment No. 14 of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights elaborates the concept of reproductive health, stating that women and men have the freedom to decide if and when to reproduce and the right to be informed and to have access to safe, effective, affordable and acceptable methods of family planning of their choice and appropriate health-care services that will, for example, enable women to go safely through pregnancy and childbirth (E/C.12/2000/4, footnote 12). Sexual health is a "state of physical, emotional, mental and social well-being related to sexuality, not merely the absence of disease, dysfunction or infirmity". The Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development states that sexual health includes the right to a satisfying and safe sex life as well as the freedom to decide when and how often to reproduce (A/CONF.171/13, para. 7.2). It also states that sexual health requires a positive and respectful approach to sexuality and sexual relationships, as well as the possibility of having pleasurable and safe sexual experiences, free of coercion, discrimination and violence.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- In their application, criminal laws and other legal restrictions may prevent access to certain sexual and reproductive health-care goods, such as contraceptive methods, directly outlaw a particular service, such as abortion, or ban the provision of sexual and reproductive information through school-based education programmes or otherwise. In practice, these laws affect a wide range of individuals, including women who attempt to undergo abortions or seek contraception; friends or family members who assist women to access abortions; practitioners providing abortions; teachers providing sexual education; pharmacists supplying contraceptives; employees of institutions that are established to provide family planning services; human rights defenders advocating for sexual and reproductive health rights; and adolescents seeking access to contraception for consensual sexual activity.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- Criminal laws and other legal restrictions affecting sexual and reproductive health may amount to violations of the right to health. Although the present report deals predominantly with the impact of these laws and legal restrictions on women and girls, it by no means discounts similar problems faced by men and boys. Women, however, are generally more likely to experience infringements of their right to sexual and reproductive health given the physiology of human reproduction and the gendered social, legal and economic context in which sexuality, fertility, pregnancy and parenthood occur. Persistent stereotyping of women's roles within society and the family establish and fuel societal norms. Many of those norms are based on the belief that the freedom of a woman, especially with regard to her sexual identity, should be curtailed and regulated (see E/CN.4/2002/83, para. 99). Where women transgress these stereotype-driven norms in the pursuit of sexual and reproductive freedom, they are often punished severely, with resultant adverse effects on their health outcomes and violations of their right to health. The criminal laws and other legal restrictions examined in the present report facilitate and justify State control over women's life, such as forcing women to continue unwanted or unplanned pregnancies.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- The causal relationship between the gender stereotyping, discrimination and marginalization of women and girls and their enjoyment of their right to sexual and reproductive health is well documented (see E/CN.4/2002/83 and E/CN.4/2004/49). Criminalization generates and perpetuates stigma; restricts their ability to make full use of available sexual and reproductive health-care goods, services and information; denies their full participation in society; and distorts perceptions among health-care professionals which, as a consequence, can hinder their access to health-care services. Criminal laws and other legal restrictions disempower women, who may be deterred from taking steps to protect their health, in order to avoid liability and out of fear of stigmatization. By restricting access to sexual and reproductive health-care goods, services and information these laws can also have a discriminatory effect, in that they disproportionately affect those in need of such resources, namely women. As a result, women and girls are punished both when they abide by these laws, and are thus subjected to poor physical and mental health outcomes, and when they do not, and thus face incarceration.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- Securing the rights of women is crucial to improving health outcomes for both sexes. However, substantial underreporting of reproductive and sexual health problems is a serious challenge and probably arises for a variety of political, social, and cultural reasons. By generating a chilling effect on the open exchange of information and data collection, criminalization further exacerbates the underreporting of important health indicators. As a result, effectively addressing poor health outcomes is rendered impossible, and difficulties faced by the international community in meeting core development goals are compounded. Moreover, development indicators do not capture the full impact of criminalization because they only address specific quantifiable public health data and exclude deprivations of dignity and autonomy.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- Criminal laws penalizing and restricting induced abortion are the paradigmatic examples of impermissible barriers to the realization of women's right to health and must be eliminated. These laws infringe women's dignity and autonomy by severely restricting decision-making by women in respect of their sexual and reproductive health. Moreover, such laws consistently generate poor physical health outcomes, resulting in deaths that could have been prevented, morbidity and ill-health, as well as negative mental health outcomes, not least because affected women risk being thrust into the criminal justice system. Creation or maintenance of criminal laws with respect to abortion may amount to violations of the obligations of States to respect, protect and fulfil the right to health.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has strongly disapproved of restrictive abortion laws, especially those that prohibit and criminalize abortion in all circumstances (see CEDAW/C/CH/CO/4, para. 19). It has also confirmed that such legislation does not prevent women from procuring unsafe illegal abortions and has framed restrictive abortion laws as a violation of the rights to life, health and information. The Committee on the Rights of the Child is also concerned about the impact of highly restrictive abortion laws on the right to health of adolescent girls. The Committee against Torture has further stated that punitive abortion laws should be reassessed since they lead to violations of a woman's right to be free from inhuman and cruel treatment. The Human Rights Committee concluded that equality between men and women required equal treatment in the area of health and the elimination of discrimination in the provision of goods and services and addressed the need to review abortion laws to prevent rights violations (see CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.10, paras. 20, 28 and 31). The former Special Rapporteur on the right to health called for removal of punitive measures against women who seek abortions (see E/CN.4/2004/49, para. 30).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- In States where abortion is criminalized, particular grounds for seeking an abortion may be exempt from criminalization. In the most severe cases, however, abortion is completely criminalized without exception - a situation that exists in only a handful of States - or allowed only to save the life of the woman. Approximately 25 per cent of the world's population lives under legal regimes that prohibit all abortions except for those following rape or incest, as well as those necessary to save a woman's life. Slightly less restrictive legal regimes permit abortion on a number of physical health, mental health and socio-economic grounds, such as poverty and number of children. Finally, abortion is unrestricted on any grounds in 56 States, though limits still exist with respect to how late in pregnancy an abortion will be permitted.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- Other legal restrictions also contribute to making legal abortions inaccessible. Conscientious objection laws create barriers to access by permitting health-care providers and ancillary personnel, such as receptionists and pharmacists, to refuse to provide abortion services, information about procedures and referrals to alternative facilities and providers. Examples of other restrictions include: laws prohibiting public funding of abortion care; requirements of counselling and mandatory waiting periods for women seeking to terminate a pregnancy; requirements that abortions be approved by more than one health-care provider; parental and spousal consent requirements; and laws that require health-care providers to report "suspected" cases of illegal abortion when women present for post-abortion care, including miscarriages. These laws make safe abortions and post-abortion care unavailable, especially to poor, displaced and young women. Such restrictive regimes, which are not replicated in other areas of sexual and reproductive health care, serve to reinforce the stigma that abortion is an objectionable practice.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed that legal grounds largely shape the course for women with an unplanned pregnancy towards a safe or an unsafe abortion. As legal restrictions primarily influence whether abortion is safe or not, more unsafe abortions are likely to occur in legal regimes that are more restrictive of abortion. The rate of unsafe abortions and the ratio of unsafe to safe abortions both directly correlate to the degree to which abortion laws are restrictive and/or punitive. Unsafe abortions are estimated to account for nearly 13 per cent of all maternal deaths globally. A further 5 million women and girls suffer short- and long-term injuries due to unsafe abortions, including haemorrhage; sepsis; trauma to the vagina, uterus and abdominal organs; cervical tearing; peritonitis; reproductive tract infections; pelvic inflammatory disease and chronic pelvic pain; shock and infertility.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- The conditions under which unsafe abortions occur include: limited access to information, particularly concerning when and how legal abortions may be obtained; abortion induced by an unskilled provider in unhygienic conditions or by a health-care worker outside of appropriate facilities; abortion induced by the woman herself or a traditional medical practitioner through insertion of an object into the uterus, drinking of a hazardous substance or violent massage; and incorrectly prescribed medicine with no follow-up or further information provided. Criminalization of abortion creates and perpetuates these unsafe conditions. In more liberal regimes, women are able to legally seek service and treatment through professional health-care providers under safe and medically appropriate circumstances, including the use of medical abortion pills, which allow for safe, self-induced early abortions.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- Criminal prohibition of abortion is a very clear expression of State interference with a woman's sexual and reproductive health because it restricts a woman's control over her body, possibly subjecting her to unnecessary health risks. Criminal prohibition also requires women to continue unplanned pregnancies and give birth when it is not their choice to do so. States are obliged to ensure that women are not denied access to necessary post-abortion medical services, irrespective of the legality of the abortion undertaken.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- Women are entitled to equal health protection afforded by the State as part of the right to health. Regardless of the legal status of abortion, women are entitled to receive access to goods, services and information related to sexual and reproductive health. In particular, they are entitled to have access to quality health services for the management of complications, including those arising from unsafe abortions and miscarriages. Such care must be unconditional even where the threat of criminal punishment is present, and it should not be contingent on a woman's cooperation in any subsequent criminal prosecution, or used as evidence in any proceeding against her or the abortion providers. Laws must not require health-care personnel to report women for abortion-related care to law enforcement or judicial authorities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- Absolute prohibition under criminal law deprives women of access to what, in some cases, is a life-saving procedure. Even where a clandestine abortion can be performed in a relatively safe, hygienic setting, it may be financially inaccessible for the most vulnerable women. Poor and marginalized women may instead turn to unsafe, self-induced abortions. Where narrow exceptions to the criminalization of abortion exist, such as to save the life of a woman, criminalization may effectively block access to information about legal abortion services. Women often remain unaware of these exceptions because the stigma surrounding the issue of abortion prevents dissemination and discussion of such necessary information. Legal restrictions on the availability of information relating to abortions also exist because criminal laws often include explicit provisions prohibiting the production and distribution of the information.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 33
- Paragraph text
- Health-care workers have, on occasion, denied women access to legally available sexual and reproductive health services or simply refused to treat women suffering from complications resulting from a clandestine abortion performed elsewhere. Owing to the stigma surrounding abortion, health-care workers have also provided erroneous information to women, such as stating that a woman may have only one legal abortion.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 34
- Paragraph text
- The marginalization and vulnerability of women as a result of abortion-related stigma and discrimination perpetuate and intensify violations of the right to health. Abortion-related stigma prevents women from seeking abortions and prevents those who undergo abortions from requesting treatment for resulting medical complications. The gross underreporting of abortion - only 35 to 60 per cent are reported - is one indicator of the magnitude of the stigma attached to abortion. Although many social and cultural factors generate and exacerbate the stigma attached to abortion, criminalization of abortion perpetuates discrimination and generates new forms of stigmatization. For example, a woman's infertility may be misunderstood to be the result of a previous abortion, placing "culpability" on the woman as a result of the stigma associated with abortion rather than acknowledging that her infertility may be due to various unrelated health conditions.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- The stigma resulting from criminalization creates a vicious cycle. Criminalization of abortion results in women seeking clandestine, and likely unsafe, abortions. The stigma resulting from procuring an illegal abortion and thereby breaking the law perpetuates the notion that abortion is an immoral practice and that the procedure is inherently unsafe, which then reinforces continuing criminalization of the practice.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- The criminalization of abortion also has a severe impact on mental health. The need to seek illegal health services and the intense stigmatization of both the abortion procedure and women who seek such procedures can have deleterious effects on women's mental health. In some cases, women have committed suicide because of accumulated pressures and stigma related to abortion. In jurisdictions where rape is not a ground for termination of pregnancy, women and girls who are pregnant as a result of rape but who do not wish to continue their pregnancy are either forced to carry the pregnancy to term or seek an illegal abortion. Both options can cause enormous anguish. In electing to pursue either option, the overarching threat of being investigated, prosecuted and punished within the criminal justice system has significant negative impacts on the emotional health and well-being of both those who seek abortions and those who do not. Moreover, while the psychological impact of seeking an illegal abortion or carrying an unwanted pregnancy to term is well documented, no corresponding evidence supports the existence of long-term mental health sequelae resulting from elective abortion.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- Maternal health, prenatal and post-natal care, and access to information, are all elements of the right to health elaborated under General Comment No. 14. Additionally, article 10.2 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights provides that special protection should be accorded to mothers. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women also recognizes that women should be provided with appropriate services in connection with pregnancy. In chapter VII.A., the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development observes that reproductive health includes access to services that enable women to go through pregnancy and childbirth safely. Despite these positive obligations to support women during pregnancy and post-birth, certain States have proposed or enacted criminal laws or other legal restrictions prohibiting certain forms of conduct, which infringe the right to health of affected women.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Infants
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- In certain jurisdictions, pregnant women have been prosecuted for various types of conduct during pregnancy. A number of prosecutions have occurred in relation to the use of illicit drugs by pregnant woman, including under pre-existing laws relating to child abuse, attempted murder, manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide. Criminal laws have also been used to prosecute women for other conduct, including alcohol use during pregnancy, the birth of stillborn babies or the miscarriage of a foetus (see A/HRC/17/26/Add.2, para. 68), failing to follow a doctor's orders, failing to refrain from sexual intercourse, and concealment of the birth.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Infants
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- In some instances, civil legislation related to child welfare has been expanded to include punitive sanctions for prenatal drug exposure, where such exposure may provide a ground for the termination of parental rights and the removal of the child upon birth. A pregnant woman's positive toxicology report or clinical signs of drug exposure in newborns, may be regarded as proof of child abuse or neglect under these legislative schemes. In some jurisdictions, health professionals are required to test pregnant women or newborns for drug exposure or may do so provided the woman is given notice. Others have enacted legislation authorizing the institutionalization of women who have used drugs during pregnancy. Health professionals may also be obliged to report positive drug-screening results to the Government.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Infants
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 40
- Paragraph text
- Some States have also criminalized perinatal HIV transmission. For example, in one jurisdiction, a person infected with HIV (and aware of the fact) must "'take all reasonable measures and precautions to prevent the transmission of HIV to others and in the case of pregnant women, the foetus', with criminal sanctions imposed for failure to do so" (see A/HRC/14/20, para. 67). In this case, no exception or defence is allowed in relation to unavailability or lack of access to preventive health-care goods, services and information. Statutes from other jurisdictions, which criminalize HIV transmission generally, may also be applied to perinatal transmission.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 41
- Paragraph text
- Criminalization of conduct during pregnancy impedes access to health-care goods and services, infringing the right to health of pregnant women. Where women fear criminal prosecution, they may be deterred from accessing health services and care, as well as pregnancy-related information. For example, women may not seek antenatal services if they are faced with the risk of prosecution from transmitting HIV, which poses a risk to their health and the health of the foetus. This undermines public health objectives related to HIV, because women may refuse testing entirely if they face criminal penalties for transmission.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- While public health goals can justify some degree of interference with personal freedoms, it has been well documented that the public health goals are not realized through criminalization; rather, they are often undermined by it (see A/HRC/14/20, para. 51). The application of criminal law to regulate conduct such as alcohol consumption during pregnancy is a disproportionate response and an ineffective deterrent. A number of professional medical associations oppose use of the criminal law as a means to address substance abuse by pregnant women, on the grounds of ineffectiveness and disproportionality. In order to realize public health outcomes effectively and simultaneously promote the right to health of women, States should not criminalize such conducts during pregnancy, but rather ensure the provision of health-care goods, services and information that promote health throughout pregnancy and childbirth.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2011
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